A new report released today, at a keynote at Modex 2026, by MHI and Deloitte finds that artificial intelligence (AI) is viewed as the most disruptive technology for the next decade.

The publication, based on a survey of supply chain leaders, reports that a quarter of respondents (24%) categorize AI as transformational and nearly half (48%) consider its disruptive impact to be significant or greater—up 25 percentage points since 2025. Robotics & automation follow AI as the second most disruptive technology, with 39% rating its impact as significant or greater, up 16 percentage points.

The 2026 MHI Annual Industry Report, “Rewiring the Future: A Supply Chain Playbook for Innovation,” finds that the emergence of AI is causing supply chain leaders to reassess every aspect of their operations, investing not only in advanced digital technologies such as AI, robotics, and real-time analytics but also in their workforce. The report provides new insights into trends and technologies that are transforming supply chains and the priorities of the people who run them.

By focusing on the intersection of business and technology, the report goes beyond tech trends to explore how operational assessments, smart automation, data-driven decision making, and new approaches to talent development can be woven together to “rewire” supply chain performance.

AI is the Future of Supply Chain and the Future is Now

AI is already adding value in a wide range of supply chain processes, from inventory management to demand planning to logistics. Moving forward, supply chain organizations will increasingly leverage AI to enhance all aspects of their operations. Agentic AI—which can operate independently with human guidance or oversight—specifically has the potential to quickly eliminate high volume repetitive tasks, proactively address disruptions, enhance forecasting precision, and improve overall visibility within the supply chain.

While leaders are excited about AI’s potential, the survey finds that they are getting stuck on where to start and what it takes to scale. The barriers are real and practical—unclear use cases and automation cost, paired with limited understanding; difficulty building business cases; talent shortages; and budget constraints.

The integration of generative AI, agentic AI, physical AI, and edge AI into operations is ushering in a future where fulfillment and supply chain activities become software-defined, perpetually adaptive, and backed by intelligent orchestration engines. This transformation does not just improve what already exists, it fundamentally changes how challenges are solved, how capital is invested, and how workforce capacity is harnessed.

Uncertainty Tops the List of Key Trends Impacting Supply Chains in 2026

According to this year’s respondents, economic uncertainty and inflation concerns topped the list of top trends impacting supply chains. According to this year’s respondents, the top five most impactful supply chain trends are:

Economic Uncertainty, Inflation and Geopolitical Risks
Workforce, Talent Shortage and Changing Worker Skillsets
Pace of Technology Adoption, Digitization and the Need for Real-Time Data
Supply Chain Visibility, Agility and Resiliency
Cybersecurity and Data Security

Download the complete report at mhi.org/annual-industry-reports.

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